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Associations Between Copper and Zinc and Risk of Hypertension in US Adults

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Abstract

Evidence linking copper and zinc to hypertension are limited and conflicting. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2014 were used. Zinc and copper intake from diet and supplements was assessed with 24-h dietary recall. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg/diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg/treatment with hypertensive medications. In a sensitivity analysis, according to the 2017 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guideline, hypertension was also defined as SBP ≥ 130 mmHg/DBP ≥ 80 mmHg/treatment with hypertensive medications. A total of 17,811 adults (8430 men and 9381 women) were included. After adjustment for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), race, educational level, smoking status, family income, and total daily energy intake, the OR of hypertension for highest vs. lowest quartile intake of copper, zinc, and copper/zinc ratio was 1.11 (0.90–1.37), 1.11 (0.90–1.35), and 0.95 (0.81–1.11), respectively. In stratified analysis by BMI (< 25 kg/m2, 25–30 kg/m2, > 30 kg/m2), no significant association was found between hypertension and intakes of copper, zinc, and copper/zinc ratio (highest vs. lowest quartile) in multivariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, the OR of hypertension for highest vs. lowest quartile levels of serum copper, zinc, and copper/zinc ratio was 1.11 (0.61–2.04), 1.43 (0.84–2.44), and 0.68 (0.34–1.33), respectively. Similar results were found in the sensitivity analysis. Zinc and copper might be not independently associated with hypertension in US adults.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all staffs at the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who were responsible for the planning and administering of NHANES and making the datasets of NHANES available on the website.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health of Qingdao University, 38 Dengzhou Road, Qingdao, 266021, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Jie Yao & Dongfeng Zhang

  2. Jiangsu Institute of Planning Parenthood Research, 277 West Fenghuang Street, Nanjing, 210036, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Jie Yao

  3. Department of Chronic Non-communicable Diseases, Qingdao Municipal Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Qingdao, China

    Ping Hu

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  1. Jie Yao
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Correspondence to Dongfeng Zhang.

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Yao, J., Hu, P. & Zhang, D. Associations Between Copper and Zinc and Risk of Hypertension in US Adults. Biol Trace Elem Res 186, 346–353 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-018-1320-3

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